Tanaka Faces Live Hitters; Reports No Pain

In a likable series of events, Yankees' ace Masahiro Tanaka threw 2 innings and 35 pitches against live hitters yesterday, USA Today reports. 

After the outing, interestingly, Tanaka admitted he didn't have great control, but since he still didn't claim to have any pain this news is definitely good for the Yanks. 

Tanaka, 25, hasn't faced anyone with a bat in over a month, a fact that's forced New York to rely on inconsistent guys like Chris Capuano and Shane Greene more often than they'd like.

"I feel it's a little bit still rusty, but there were some good balls that I was able to throw," Tanaka told the Associated Press through a translator. "I want to keep moving forward."

While healthy with the Yankees this season, as we all know, Tanaka was one of the best hurlers in baseball, going 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA and 135 strikeouts. 

Also included in those amazing stats, impressively, were three complete games, coming versus the Mets, Mariners, and Red Sox with the Mets one being a shutout. 

In other words, it's pretty obvious to anyone with a mind that Tanaka returning would be a huge boost for the currently-in-limbo Bombers, who presently trail the Mariners by 3 1/2 games in the AL Wild Card Standings.